The present invention relates to snowmobiles and more particularly to snowmobile throttle assemblies.
Snowmobile throttle assemblies are widely used to regulate the speed of snowmobiles so that the snowmobile driver can push a throttle lever of a throttle assembly to increase the speed of the snowmobile. Conventionally, a throttle assembly is fixedly attached to a steering member of the snowmobile near the handle grip, and the throttle lever of the assembly is pivotally mounted so that it hinges about a rotational axis in response to the driver""s pushing or releasing of the throttle lever.
With these conventional throttle assemblies, the driver uses his or her thumb over the throttle lever with an over-the-handle grip during a ride in a substantially straightforward direction. In sharp turns, however, the driver switches to an under-the-handle grip as the driver tends to lean heavily in a lateral direction in the direction of the turn, sometimes resulting in the driver sliding his or her body almost off the seat of the snowmobile.
In maneuvering such sharp turns on the snowmobiles currently on the market, the driver must rotate his or her hand around the handle to the under-the-handle grip, and use his or her index finger and/or middle finger to pull the throttle lever to maintain or increase the speed of the snowmobile, as illustrated in FIG. 6. This is so because during sharp turns, the driver""s hand and arm may be positioned at such a severe angle with respect to one another as the driver turns the steering member and leans heavily in a lateral direction. Such positioning creates stress at the wrist and would be uncomfortable to the driver as the angle of the turn increases. Further, since the wrist can bend only so far, the driver has to switch to the under-the-handle grip to continue pushing the throttle lever.
Heretofore, all snowmobiles had a fixedly mounted throttle assembly, which required the above-described over-the-handle grip to under-the-handle grip changes during sharp turns. Further, during extended rides, the driver""s hand is in a fixed position while exerting enough pressure to push the throttle lever to regulate the speed of the snowmobile. Maintaining the same hand position for long periods of time can become tiresome for the driver.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel throttle assembly for a snowmobile which provides its driver more comfort than throttle assemblies heretofore available. This objective is attained by providing a rotatably mounted throttle assembly for a snowmobile. According to an aspect of the present invention, a throttle assembly comprises a tube rotatably mounted on a steering member of the snowmobile. A throttle housing is mounted on the tube. A throttle lever has a proximal end and a distal end. The throttle lever is mounted on the throttle housing and is pivotable about the distal end of the throttle lever on the throttle housing. A biasing element provides a biasing force to the tube and is connected to the steering member.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a throttle assembly for a tracked vehicle has a tube rotatably mounted on a steering member of the vehicle. A biasing element biases the tube to a first position. The biasing element is connected to the steering member. A throttle has a proximal end and a distal end. The throttle is coupled to the tube and is pivotable about the distal end of the throttle on the tube. The throttle assembly is rotatably movable relative to the steering member to a second position against the biasing of the biasing element.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this disclosure and which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of this invention.